The Way Back Home
by amutoluv
Summary: She left without a word. He wanted her back. No one expects her to come back three years later. Some will accept her back. Others? Not so much... Bad summary. Hope you like it.  :
1. Chapter 1: She's Back

_This is my first story, so I hope you like it! (:_

''

**Ikuto's POV**

Walking through the old amusement park by my neighborhood brought back many memories. Memories of _her._ She stole my heart, taking it with her as she strolled out of town to pursue whatever she felt was more important than her friends here in Japan. I miss her, but I still don't know why she left us: myself, Utau, Kukai, Nagihiko, Tadase, Rima, and Yaya. It's been four years, and we still haven't heard from Hinamori Amu or her family. The 14-year-old, bubbly, pink-haired, golden-eyed beauty would now be eighteen years old. I'm twenty-one years old. It's hard to believe that it has been that long. I brushed my navy blue hair out of my dark, blue-amethyst eyes, thinking about Amu.

**Amu's POV**

It has been four long years, and I am finally back. I've already walked by my old middle school and the high school I attended for part of my freshmen year. I'm so glad to be back. My bubble-gum pink hair falls below my chest. I haven't grown in height at all, to my dismay, standing only at 5'1". Deciding to look nice for my first day back in Japan, I chose a pair of denim skinny jeans and a hooded, gold, loose-fitting, v-neck shirt. It was almost like a tunic. To top it off, I wore my golden 2-inch pumps. I was proud that I had been able to learn to walk in them.

I had already contacted Utau and Rima, telling them that I was moving back. They were the only ones I had told, and I decided to keep it that way. Little did I know that the apartment that I would be living in was right across the street from the house Utau, Rima, Ikuto, Nagihiko, and Kukai shared. I was so happy.

Utau, Rima, and I had already planned out the "big reveal". Utau and Rima were going to gather everyone at their house, including Tadase, his girlfriend Saaya, Yaya, and her boyfriend Kairi. She was going to tell them that it was for a nice dinner, since everyone had gone their separate ways.

Tadase was now living with Saaya, while he was working for the local grocery store. They were both 18. Yaya and Kairi were still 17 years old, so legally they wouldn't be able to live together alone. Utau and Kukai both followed their dreams, while staying a couple. Utau is an up-and-coming singer and Kukai is going to Seiyo International College on a soccer scholarship. Rima is laying it low with Nagihiko, staying as a couple as well. Nagihiko works as a technician at the high school and a part-time DJ at a club. Utau and Kukai were 19 years old. Rima and Nagihiko were both 18 years old.

Sadly, I hadn't heard much about Ikuto. All I knew is that he was doing well as a violinist and the president of a talent-scouting company called Easter.

I was lost in my train of thought until a buzzing noise decided to bring me back. I yanked my cell phone out of my pocket and looked at the caller ID. It was Utau.

"Hello?"

_"AMU! Are you here yet? Where are you?"_

I listened to her for a minute, waiting for her to stop.

"Utau. I'm here. Calm down," I giggled.

_"Thank you, JESUS. Where are you? Rima and I will come and pick you up. Everybody is out of the house until tonight for the dinner."_

"I'm about a block away from the old high school," I said, unsure of the street.

_"Okay. Go back to the high school and wait for us by the gate, okay?"_

"Alright. I can't wait to see you!"

_"Me either! LOVE YOU! See you in like five minutes!"_

After that she hung up. I headed back toward the high school, pulling the hood up on my shirt. After all, I was the only pinkette in this whole town. It had always been that way.

It didn't take long for me to reach the high school. I looked up at the old, metal sign mounted above the gate at the main entrance. I sighed. It was amazing how time flew by.

I waited for about five minutes when a sleek, black Chevy Tahoe screeched up to the curb beside the gate. A tall, bleach-blonde and a short, caramel-blonde jumped out of the car and ran at me. A wide grin was plastered across my face as I ran towards them. When all three of us met, we enveloped each other in a bone-crushing hug.

We stood there for a while, just hugging each other. When we finally pulled away, there were tears in all of our eyes. I was surprised, seeing as Rima was a tough girl and Utau was just as tough.

"Amu! I'm so glad you're back. So many things have changed!" Utau exclaimed, wiping the tears carefully from her eyes as to not mess up her make-up.

A wide grin spread across my face, my cheeks flushed.

"I know, I know. I had to go, though," I explained.

Rima glared at me, her eyes still glistening from the tears.

"Just why did you leave? I don't seem to remember you mentioning that," she said accusingly, making me want to shrink away.

"It's a really long story," I said, not wanting to talk about it.

"We have time," Utau stated bluntly, crossing her arms over her chest.

I sighed, knowing that no matter what, I was going to have to spill sooner or later. I sat down on the ground against the gate, while Utau and Rima sat across from me. I hugged my knees, propping my chin on my knees.

"About two weeks before we left, my 7 year-old little sister Ami had a doctor's appointment. She had been having frequent headaches and her grades had been dropping. We told the doctor and he ordered a CAT scan of her brain. About three days later, we got the results. She had a malignant brain tumor, which meant cancer. They ordered us to leave for Tokyo because they had more experience with brain cancer in younger kids. I didn't tell any of you because it was already too much," I looked at them apologetically.

"We left about a week later. I kept it a secret until the last minute. Anyway, we have been living in Tokyo for the past three years, waiting for results of Ami's chemo," tears gathered in my eyes as I continued, "she lost her battle about three weeks ago. Her dying wish was that I come back here and make things right, that I live here. So, here I am."

Utau and Rima sat there with wide eyes. They never knew that was the reason that she had left.

Rima crawled over to Amu and wrapped her arms around her. Utau crawled to her other side and did the same. They consoled her with silence. She looked at them and smiled sadly.

"I'm glad she's happier. There's no more pain in her life. Everything will be okay."

Utau and Rima were shocked to hear these words coming from her mouth, but they composed themselves.

"We should get going," I said, standing, "Don't want to be late for my party."

I masked my sad expression with a smile. They stood as well and returned the smile. We all hopped into the Tahoe, Utau driving while Rima and I were in the back. The ride was very loud with us reminiscing about the past three years. I shied away from talking about my past and just listened to their enthusiastic talk. We got on the subject of the party.

"So, we are going to get to the house," Utau started, never taking her eyes off the road, "next, we will start setting up for the party, then we will hide you at around 5PM, which is when everyone will start to show up."

"Sounds like a plan!" I said enthusiastically. I was so excited for the event that was going to take place tonight.

We got to her house in about ten minutes since we had left the high school. Once we reached the door of the massive house, Utau took out a silver key and unlocked the door swiftly.

The house was exactly what I expected it to be. It was large of course, with five people living there. It was very clean, with the occasional piece of clothing or empty pizza box scattered on the floor. It already felt like home. The room that we opened up to was a spacious room; the living room. It was decorated with a large, flat-screen on one wall. I guessed it was for Kukai to watch his weekly games. The furniture was different colors, yet it matched: a red couch, a tan loveseat, and a big black chair. In front of the couch was a large, black coffee table. Shaggy, tan carpet covered the floor. The walls were a deep shade of red with one white wall; the wall with the TV mounted on it.

"I love it," I breathed, taking it all in.

Utau smiled and took a look around.

"Sorry it's so messy. We got three men living with us. But thanks," she laughed.

She gave me a tour of the house and where I would be hiding. She decided I would hide in her and Kukai's room. By the time she was done showing me around, it was around 4:45 PM. She heard the door open and slam shut.

"QUICK! Go hide!" she whispered harshly.

I ran to their room, hiding in the closet. My heart was rushing, but I don't know why. I breathed deeply, slowing my heart rate. I listened for the voice to see if I would recognize it.

"It looks so nice in here!"

Amu smiled, recognizing the childish voice to being Yaya's. That means Kairi was here as well. He was always quiet though.

"Yes it does! This is going to be an amazing dinner. I've missed everyone so much."

Tadase. The boy I used to have a crush on. I remember his blonde hair and ruby eyes perfectly. I wonder if he has changed at all.

"It does look quite nice in here," I heard a lower female voice say. Saaya, Tadase's long-time girlfriend. She was quite the girl, very crazy.

That means four down, four to go. I was getting more and more nervous by the second.

Over the next 20 minutes, everyone showed up. Everyone, except that one blue-haired boy that I had been dying to see. Ikuto. Of course Ikuto would be late. It was Ikuto of course. After about another 10 minutes, Ikuto showed up and the party had started. I heard Utau excuse herself and heard her running up the stairs. The closet door slammed open and she smiled excitedly.

"You ready?"

"I've been dying up here. Heck yeah I'm ready," I said, getting up and stretching my sore limbs. I had never been good at sitting still for a long time.

She made sure no one was in the hallway, and then we both snuck out of the room. We quietly made our way to the steps. She told me to wait at the top until she said to come down.

Once she had made her way down the stairs, she began a "speech".

"So, everyone. This is the first time we've gotten together. And I bet you all are wondering why. Well, first of all, we needed to do this. We are all friends and we need to see each other. And second of all, Rima and I have a little…gift for you all. Come on down!"

I took that as my cue and made my way down the stairs. I heard gasps before I had made it all the way down the stairs. I was immediately tackled with hugs from everyone except that one man standing against the wall, looking surprised.

Once everyone had calmed down, they sat me down and questioned me. I answered every single one honestly: where were you, why did you leave, why didn't you call, etc. I felt bad, seeing that they had obviously missed me very much. Ikuto still stood against the wall. He hadn't said one word.

"So, Ikuto," Utau began. "Are you going to say anything or are you just going to stand there like an idiot?"

He shook his head and pushed himself off the wall.

"I have nothing to say to her. She left us without saying anything to anyone. I'm leaving."

''

_~So I hope you all like the story! I have more chapters written and will post them soon. Thanks for reading! And I do not own Shugo Chara, but I do own the story plot!~_


	2. Chapter 2: Reconciliations

_This is the second chapter. Hopefully you will like it…hahah. Thanks for reading (:_

_Recap:_

_ He shook his head and pushed himself off the wall._

_ "I have nothing to say to her. She left us without saying anything to anyone. I'm leaving."_

Listening to his words made me ache. His voice, deep and soft like velvet, was filled with sadness and a slight bit of anger. While I sat there shocked, he walked out the door. Utau was shouting his name.

Before I knew what I was doing, I got up and ran after him. When I caught up to him walking down the road, I planted myself in front of him. He glared down at me.

"Move."

My face fell a little bit, and his glare softened. We stared at each other for a while.

"Do you hate me?" I asked, breaking the silence.

He stared at me for a little bit after I asked the question. I think he was trying to think of what he was going to say. I just hoped that he would say no.

"I don't know," he said after a while, breaking my heart. "I hate what you did."

I almost sighed with relief. That was better. Much better.

"I'm sorry. So sorry. You don't know how much I regret leaving and how much I hated to leave. I had to leave, though. For Ami. She needed me and I didn't know how to tell you…" I rambled on, trying to make sense of what I was saying.

I felt a hand clamp over my mouth, shutting me up. My eyes widened as Ikuto removed his hand. He smirked.

"It might take a while to forgive you…but I think I can."

I felt like every trouble in the world had been lifted off my shoulders. I hadn't given it much thought about how Ikuto would take it, and I probably should've. I mean, we liked each other, maybe even more than liked. I should've known he would have been upset.

Before I could think about my actions, I hugged him. I was so relieved and happy. He hugged me back, his strong arms tightening around my small frame. It felt so…natural. I wished we could have stayed like that forever, but too soon for my liking, he pulled away.

"We should go back," he sighed, his eyes closed. "It is your party after all."

We walked back into the house. Everyone was waiting in the living room, anxious. As soon as Utau saw us, she rushed to us.

Suddenly, she raised her hand to slap Ikuto. He grabbed her hand swiftly, lowering it to her side. She tried to yank her hand out of his grip, but failed.

"What the heck is your problem, Ikuto?" she yelled in his face. I could never get why they fought like that, being brother and sister. Ami and I never fought like that...I guess I just couldn't fight with her. I miss her so much.

"Nothing is my problem anymore. Let's just get on to this dinner."

She looked at him angrily, stomping away into the large kitchen. We could hear her slamming the cabinets and yanking open drawers. Ikuto just chuckled. He looked at Kukai.

"You better get in there before she breaks the kitchen."

He nodded his head rapidly and rushed into the kitchen. The crashing around stopped after about a minute.

We waited in the living room for about half an hour before dinner was ready. We were having fish, rice, chicken, ramen and other little dishes. For dessert we would have taiyaki and mochi. It was an awkward collection of food, but we weren't about to question her. We all knew she chose the dishes specifically for all of us.

"It looks delicious, Utau," I said, eyeing up the food.

"We all know you like your eats," Utau joked laughing. Everyone laughed along with her, including myself.

Over dinner, we talked about random things. Colleges, jobs, living arrangements. They ask if I will be living with them, and are disappointed to hear me say no. The bounce back quickly when they find out my apartment is just across the road.

"So, are you all unpacked yet?" Tadase asks, very curious.

"No," I sigh, "My stuff will get here tomorrow. It's gonna be a pain in the butt to unload all that crap."

"I would help you Amu, but I have work tomorrow," Tadase admitted, looking apolegetic.

I sat there helplessly as everyone said why they couldn't help tomorrow. I felt bad, but I was quite annoyed with them. They only one who didn't say anything was Ikuto. I looked at him hopefully. He ran a hand through his shaggy hair, sighing.

"I guess I'm not doing anything tomorrow. What time do you want me to come over tomorrow?"

I smiled hugely. "Is around one okay?"

"Sounds good. Do you need anything done tonight?"

I thought about it for a minute, then a bell went off in my head.

"Come to think of it, my mattress is on the top of my car. Do you think you could help me unload that after dinner is over?"

"No problem."

Now that everything had been figured out, we continued our happy chatter about everyone's lives. Ikuto and I left around 12AM.

We crossed the road, reaching the only expensive thing I owned: my car. It was a yellow, four-door, 2010 Dodge Charger SXT. It was the last thing my parents had given me before I left. They called it a "parting gift". I knew they got it, though, because the last few years had been all about Ami, and they felt guilty.

Ikuto raised his eyebrows. "Nice car."

I draped my body across the front, giving it a protective hug.

"Thanks. It's from my mom and dad."

"I figured," he said, smirking. "I didn't think you could buy something THAT expensive yourself."

I stuck my tongue out at him playfully.

"Shut up. Help me get this ugly mattress off my baby. It's suffocating her."

He laughed, then proceeded to help me untie the mattress from the top. The thing was freaking heavy, so it was very helpful that Ikuto was there.

"By the way, thank you for helping me today, and tomorrow. I would've probably died tomorrow without you."

"Aw, Amu," he cooed. "Getting so lovey-dovey so quickly now?"

He looked at me with that stupid smirk spread across his face. It made me want to hit him. Well, not so much.

"You're so stupid."

"And you love that."

I rolled my eyes, but smiled. Ikuto had an interesting sense of humor, but out of everyone, I was always the one who laughed at his blunt attitude and stupid jokes.

"You know," he started, coming towards me. "I really did miss you."

What he did next took me off guard. He walked over and wrapped his arms around my waste. His massive, 6-foot frame overpowered my small stature. This was odd for Ikuto. He was never the type of guy to show any kind of emotion in public. Once I got over the shock, I wrapped my arms around his neck, burying my face in his chest. He smelled so good, yet he didn't have to try.

He pulled away, looking me in my eyes with a serious stare.

"Promise me you will never leave me again."

I stared back into his eyes, lost in them. Lost in the hurt, the sadness, and mostly the determination.

"I promise."

He relaxed, smiling.

"Well, let's finish getting this bed inside."

After shaking off the moment, I fumbled with the tight knots until Ikuto came over and swiftly untied them. He finished untying the rest of them, joking about how mentally impaired I was.

"Whatever. You're just jealous."

He scoffed. "Jealous of what? Your stupidity?"

"Uh, no. That I'm just so smart, I get everything wrong."

He laughed. "That made no sense. At all."

"...I know," I gave up, just laughing it off with Ikuto.

We continued cracking jokes at each other all the way up the stairs, dragging the giant, queen-sized mattress with us. We finally made it to the 7th floor, panting. I flopped down on the mattress in the hallway. We still had about twenty yards before we made it to my door.

"I'm so tired," I dragged out dramatically. I didn't want to move.

"What's your room number?" Ikuto asked, trying to hide the fact that he was dying inside as well.

"Twenty-seven. Why?"

I felt the bed move under me. I looked up, and saw Ikuto dragging the mattress down the hall toward my room.

"What are you doing?" I asked, confused.

He didn't answer me. Once we got to my door, he came over and reached into my pants pocket. I had no clue what he was doing until he grabbed my key to the door. He went to the door and unlocked the door as I got off the mattress.

Wordlessly, we got it through the door, across the empty living room, and into my room. The room was fairly large with an on-suite bathroom, walk-in closet, and a balcony with a pretty view of the city.

When we got the mattress into place, we both fell on it simultaneously. That got a laugh out of me and a smile out of Ikuto. We layed there staring at the ceiling. It was a comfortable silence. Slowly, I felt my eyes close and I fell into a deep sleep.

**Ikuto's POV**

As I stared at the ceiling, I heard a soft, steady snore. I looked over and saw Amu fast asleep. I smiled, watching her small figure. She was curled up in a ball, her arms wrapped around her body. Then I thought about it. She was probaby cold.

I got up quietly, taking her roomkey and making my way out of the apartment. I walked quickly over to my house, grabbed a few blankets and pillows, then ran back over to her apartment. Everyone at the house was asleep, so this was a quick job.

She was still asleep when I came back, and for that I was thankful. I unfolded the blankets and draped them over her sleeping form. She immediatly looked more comfortable. Without giving it any though, I crawled into her bed. I layed next to her, her body curling up comfortably next to mine. I fell into a satisfying sleep, laying next to my lost love.

_That's the second chapter (: Please review! _


	3. Chapter 3: Moving Day

_This is third chapter (: Sorry about all the spelling/grammar errors in the last chapter. The keyboard I was using doesn't work well. Thank you for the reviews, too! (:_

_**Ikuto's POV**_

_She was still asleep when I came back, and for that I was thankful. I unfolded the blankets and draped them over her sleeping form. She immediately looked more comfortable. Without giving it any though, I crawled into her bed. I lay next to her, her body curling up comfortably next to mine. I fell into a satisfying sleep, lying next to my lost love._

**Amu's POV**

My eyes shot open, tears streaming down my face. That was the worst dream I've had. I always had dreams of Ami and the good times we had together. But this dream, it was different.

In this dream, I was at Ami's funeral. It kept replaying in my head, word for word. It was like it was really happening, a million times over.

I wiped away the tears with my blanket. Wait. What? A blanket? I looked down, seeing a thick, wool blanket. I don't remember bringing a blanket.

I looked to my left, and was startled. Ikuto's face was about three inches away from mine. I clamped my hand over my mouth before I could scream. Ikuto never looked this peaceful. He was always so troubled and busy, and I knew he never slept all that well.

I got off the bed, trying my best to be as quiet as possible. I decided I would explore my apartment more.

When you walked in to the apartment, it opened up into the living room. It was a large living room, with a small balcony. I mainly chose this apartment because of the two balconies. To the left there was a small kitchen. It came with all the appliances, and there was a bar/counter that overlooked the living room.

It was a two bedroom, two bathroom apartment. One bathroom in the hall, one in my room. My room was the largest. I was planning on turning the second bedroom into an office or library.

When I was looking around the second bedroom, I heard a yawn. I peeked into my room and saw Ikuto standing up, stretching. He turned around and saw me looking at him.

"Like what you see?" he asked, smirking.

"Definitely. Bed head really turns me on."

He laughed, messing his hair up some more. He looked around, then at me.

"What time is it?" he asked out of the blue.

I slipped my white iPhone out of my pocket. It was almost eleven o'clock. I'm glad I woke up when I did.

"It's almost eleven. The moving truck should be here in about 2 hours."

He scowled and made a noise like an angry cat. He hated getting up early.

"Want to go to a café or something?" I asked, hoping it would put him in a better mood.

"Of course. I need coffee," he dragged out the word coffee, sounding desperate. I laughed.

"Well lead the way then. I can't remember where the cafes are."

He grabbed my keys off the floor beside him and took my hand, leading me out of the apartment. We walked for about five minutes when we reached a small café that looked like it already had its fair share of customers.

Ikuto opened the door, motioning me inside. He slipped in after me and we were immediately greeted by a cheerful looking blonde.

"Hello. How may I help you?" her voice was high pitch, which was not comforting to my ears this early in the morning.

"Just a table for two," Ikuto said, his voice still thick with sleep.

She led us to a small table in the corner of the café and asked us what we would like to drink.

"Two water bottles, a hot chocolate, and a coffee with chocolate creamer," Ikuto listed off, not even bothering to look at the menu. I stared at him.

"How did you know that's what I wanted?" I asked once the annoying waitress had left.

"That's what you always get. I know you hate coffee. I remember things, trust me," he said, looking at me the entire time.

My frown turned into a smile, and I laughed.

"Well, I'm glad you remembered," I said cheerfully. "Because that's exactly what I was going to ask for."

She came back soon after that, carrying our drinks. The coffee and hot chocolate were in to-go cups.

"What would you like to eat?" she asked, her voice still bright.

Ikuto looked at me, gesturing me to order first.

"Um, I would like tamagoyaki and a small bowl of miso soup, please," I said, looking up at the girl and smiling.

"Alrighty then," she said, turning to Ikuto. "And for you?"

"I'll have broiled fish and bowl of miso soup, as well," he said, folding up the menu and handing it back to girl. I did that same.

"Alright! Coming right up," she hurried away, going back into the kitchen.

"I could stab myself in the brain and it would hurt less than her annoying chirping," Ikuto groaned, slamming his head on the table.

I laughed loudly, earning stares from the neighboring tables.

"I was thinking the same thing."

He kept his head on the table until the waitress came back with our meals.

"Hope you enjoy your breakfast!"

I looked at Ikuto and saw him mocking her as she walked away. I was so tired and slap-happy; I thought it was about the funniest thing I'd ever seen. He laughed along with me. We talked while we ate, trying to make sense of what we were trying to say.

"That was so freaking good," I said, leaning back in the chair.

"It was alright," Ikuto said, unimpressed. "I usually come here so it's nothing special."

I smiled. "We're going to have to get going. It's 12:30 so the truck should be here soon.

Ikuto called for the check and paid. I felt bad, but he wouldn't listen to me. Once he finished paying, we made our way back to my apartment. We hadn't been there five minutes when I heard the buzzer go off.

I clicked the button, asking who it was. As expected, it was the movers.

It took about an hour and a half to get all the furniture up the stairs and in my room. They collected their pay, thanked us, and left. Now, it was just Ikuto and I.

"So, where do you want to start?" Ikuto asked, looking around.

"Well, we can start by moving the marked boxes into their assigned rooms. Then we can go from there. Anything marked "Other" goes into the second bedroom," I said, feeling confident.

We started moving the boxes after that. I carried the smaller boxes while Ikuto carried the bigger boxes. He was wearing dark jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt, but after a while he took off the shirt. He was wearing a white tank underneath. His muscles would flex whenever he moved. He caught me staring at him.

"You want me to take it all off? Or are you just going to keep mentally undressing me?" He asked, smirking while flexing.

I laughed. "Well if you want to make it easy, you could take it all off, but I'm okay with undressing you in my mind."

He started to lift his shirt up, doing a little dance. I lost it and he just laughed. I missed this.

We continued our mission, finishing only because we constantly joked around, making it easier and more fun.

"What now?" Ikuto asked, opening the box marked "cups and dishes". He grabbed two cups and filled them with ice from the freezer and water. He handed me one, leaning against the counter.

"Well, since we're in the kitchen, let's just start from here," I stated, grabbing more cups from the box and putting them in the closest cabinet.

Once we finished the kitchen, we started in the living room. That's when I remembered something.

"Hey, Ikuto," I started. "Did you tell Utau or anybody at your house that you weren't coming home?"

"I didn't bother. I didn't know I was sleeping here and they probably thought I would anyway. There was no point."

I thought about it for a minute. It was true. Anyway, Ikuto was independent and everyone knew that.

The living room turned out nicely. My green loveseat was across from the 50" flat screen. To the right of the loveseat was a large, matching chair. The entertainment center was dark mahogany, along with end tables and coffee table. I decided to keep the walls white and the carpet tan.

After we finished in the living room, we moved on to my room. It didn't take long to finish in there. My bedding was a hot pink with zebra print sheets. The bed frame, dresser, and night stands were dark wood. All the furniture in my house was dark because I loved it. The carpet in my room was black and shaggy, the walls turquoise. Somehow the colors all matched.

In the office/library, the desk and bookshelves were—of course—dark mahogany. I used the closet as storage for cleaning supplies.

Finally, we finished moving everything into place. It was almost 6 o'clock. We flopped down on the loveseat.

"I'm so tired," Ikuto said, stretching out. I wasn't as tired because Ikuto did most of the heavy moving. I felt bad.

"I can make dinner if you want," I said.

"But you don't have any groceries," he said, raining on my parade.

"Well, I can go get some."

"Not alone."

"Yes I can. You can sleep while I'm gone," I insisted.

"As tempting as that sounds, I don't trust you alone," he stated bluntly, pushing himself off the couch. "I'm going to run over to my house and change. You do the same, and then we can go get groceries."

I huffed, but agreed. I decided that while he was gone, I'd take a quick shower. I needed it.

Once I was done in the shower, I changed into a pair of skinny jeans, black converse, and a loose-fitting, green sweatshirt that had "Living young and free" written across the front. By the time I had gotten dressed, Ikuto was already in my living room.

"How did you get in here?" I asked curiously.

He held up my keys and shook them. I frowned and went up to grab them.

"Stop taking my keys," I grumbled.

He laughed.

"We are taking your car," Ikuto said as we were walking out the door.

"Well, duh," I said, looking at him. "I'm not leaving my baby here alone."

"But I'm driving," he said, grabbing my keys and walking ahead of me.

"NO!" I tried to get the keys away from him, but the height difference was a slight problem.

We reached the car and he slipped in the driver's side. I stood defiantly outside as he revved the engine. He looked at me, amused.

"Come on. I want to eat before I die."

I got in the car stubbornly. He just laughed and sped off. I was definitely making him push the cart when we got to the store.

The trip to the store took about an hour. We ran into some friends of Ikuto's, who wouldn't let us walk away without telling us their whole life story. When we got out of the store, I sighed.

"I thought they were going to kidnap us or something," I said, relieved. "They would not shut up."

"Yeah, the Sato's are like that. They are really good friends with my father and work with Easter."

I looked puzzled. This was the first time he's brought up work.

"Why is this the first time I'm hearing of your work?"

"I hate working," he said, disgust evident in his voice. "I try to keep away from that subject as much as possible. I only work when I have to."

"Why haven't you been in work lately?"

"Well, no one has called and my dad knows your back, so I'm guessing he's giving me some time off." We had reached the car, so as he was talking he was unloading the bags into the trunk.

My face turned red at hearing this.

"How does your dad know who I am?"

"Well, Utau has said stuff about you to him and he immediately questioned me," he said nonchalantly. "You can say your name has popped up more than once."

"Oh," I said, still embarrassed.

The ride home was silent after that, until he asked me what I was making for dinner.

"Um, excuse me? You mean 'we'."

"No, I don't," he said, his eyes on the road. "You said you'd make dinner."

"So you won't help me?" I put my puppy face on, knowing it would get to him.

He glanced over at my face and groaned.

"Fine."

"Yay! We are having fish and rice."

He stared at the road from then on.

When we got home, I put the fish in the pan on the stove. Ikuto started on the rice. He had already cleaned the rice cooker and was already putting some rice in. The fish took about twenty minutes to cook fully. While the rice cooked, Ikuto set out the dishes.

"Want to have a movie dinner?" He asked, looking at me while I split the fish equally on the plates.

"Sure. What movie do you want to watch?"

"Scary."

I almost dropped the pan, but answered back. "Sure."

I hate scary movies. I always feel like I can't turn a corner without getting my head chopped off. But if he wanted to watch one, I think I could survive.

"Let's watch the Roommate. I haven't seen that one," he said, picking it lazily off the shelf.

Crap. I hadn't seen that one either.

Once I had served the rice, I took a seat on the loveseat and he sat in the chair after he popped the DVD in the player. The movie began.

The movie wasn't even half way through, and I was already scared out of my mind. Ikuto glanced over at me cowering behind my rice and laughed. I scowled at him.

"Do you want me to sit by you?" he asked, the question taking me off guard.

I took the opportunity though. I nodded.

He pushed himself off the chair and plopped himself to my right. I curled up next to him, feeling safer already. I finished my rice and set it on the table in front of me. Before I knew it, the movie was over.

"Well, I should get going," Ikuto said, getting off the loveseat, stretching.

"No!" It squeaked out of my mouth before I could stop it.

He looked at me questionably. He saw the fear in my eyes and sighed. Wordlessly, he picked me up and carried me to my room. He pulled back the covers and tucked me inside. I thought he was going to leave until he went to the other side and lay down.

He put his hand on my cheek and rubbed his long fingers in a lazy circle. This calmed me down. It was something my mother used to always do when I couldn't sleep. I slowly drifted off; Ikuto's peaceful look still fresh in my mind.

_It took me forever to figure out how I was going to word everything in this story. _

_-.- But I finally figured it out! Thanks for reading and please review! (:_


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